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Summary: Read this book!!!!!!!!
Review: So far I've only read a short version in my English class, buy I plan to get the complete book soon. This is one of the best books I've ever read!! It's a great about the human quest for knowlage and partly about human cruelty (as it shows how Charlie's "friends" make fun of him). Over all I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: beautiful and moving, but some extraneous sexual content
Review: Daniel Keyes's novel, _Flowers for Algernon is a heart-rending, but true to life account of a mentally chalenged adult as he attempts to overcome the bigotry, hipocracy, and general evil all around him, all while becoming steadily more aware of his feeble, nearly helpless position as first an intellectually divoid, than overstimulated individual. I found the description of Charlie's experiences more enlightening when he was mentally slower, than when his IQ increased, and, unlike the short story version which inspired me, after reading it in eighth grade, to read this one five years later, Gordon's rise to intellectual brilliance is not as well-developed, except for evidence of steadily improving spelling and grammar. As for my comments about extraneous sexual scenes, I believe Keyes could have shown us Charlie's struggle and emotional confusion without resorting to so much of a reliance on explicitly Freudian scenes. However, that was the mode of psychological thought prevalent at the time, so it is to be expected, I suppose. All in all, a wonderful, if overly psycho-analysis driven, story.
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Summary: Didn't float my boat
Review: Flowers for Algernon provided entertainment in the biggining explaining his operation and sad stories, but I found that it was all downhill from there. I feel the book goes too in depth about Charlie's feelings on relationships. Not one of my favorites.
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Summary: Awesome!
Review: I read this for English last year. At first, I didn't understand what was going on in the book, but once it hit me....I was hooked. To see Charlie go from ... to genius was incredible. There was so much detail, so many hooks and catches....it was one of the best books I have ever read. However, I did cry at the end...how can you not? I 100% recommend this to any and everyone!
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Summary: Awe-inspiring classic...
Review: This is a book I first read as a kid, and have had a copy around almost ever since. A true classic and a rarity for touching upon this subject matter in such a unique way, full of emotion yet also a fascinating science fiction tale that may be 'science fact' one day. I haven't seen the movie (Charly), but wouldn't mind seeing it one of these days. The book I'll recommend wholeheartedly -- not only is it easy reading, easy to follow, etc (for today's short attention spans) but it's incredibly rewarding as well. One of those books that should be introduced to kids in school around the 4th or 5th grade. Highly recommended for all.
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Summary: Flowers for Algernon
Review: Daniel Keyesfs Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction narrative that was originally written as a short story in 1959 then expanded into a novel in 1966. The novel takes place in New York City. In this essay, I will give a literary analysis and criticism of the novel. The novelfs protagonist and narrator Charlie Gordon is a mentally [handicapped]thirty-three year old man. He works in a bakery and is always mocked by the other workers because he behaves like a child, having difficulty understanding, manipulating, and communicating information. Charlie is determined to become smart to have people like him and become his friend. His wish comes true when a group of scientists gives him an experimental surgery to improve his intelligence. As a result Charlie increases his IQ from 68 to 185. At first Charlie is thrilled to be able to read and to work more efficiently at the bakery. However, he starts to see the cruel reality. He realizes how all the workers of the bakery used to terribly make fun of him and how he was never their friend. In addition, he realizes how now everyone resented him even more than they did before because he became smarter. The biggest surprise was at the Chicago psychology convention. He discovers that this change in intelligence might not be permanent. This makes him leave the conference and escape to New York, facing the outside world by himself. The theme of the novel describes what happiness is really about. In the novel, the scientists say that when Charlie first came to them he was outside of society, alone in a great city without friends or relatives to care about him, and living a miserable life. That is not necessarily true. Charlie probably had a better and happier life before he became smart because he did not know the horrible side of humans with envy, hatred, lies, and apathy. The worst part is the Charlie discovered he had some of those features in himself. At one point in the novel, he becomes like the bakery workers that treated him poorly, and makes everyone else feel inferior. The theme of the book is really important because it is saying that a personfs happiness has nothing to do with intelligence. Just because a person is mentally [handicapped] does not mean that he or she cannot live a happy meaningful life. They explain this throughout the entire novel. I would definitely recommend Flowers for Algernon for young adults. Itfs a great novel!
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Summary: Very Deep
Review: This book is very deep and full of interesting and thought provoking analysis of a science experiment that in effect helped, but then turned on the main [challenged] adults. During this time, he gets the opportunity to have an experiment on him to increase his intelligence, something his mother always wanted for him when he was younger. After the experiment is performed, his knowledge increases and he becomes a genius, absorbing all types of information at rapid speeds. While many will view this book as one man's journey through this, it is really about sexual experiences and emotional breakthroughs throughout his "new life". After the experiment he starts to understand what his emotions and sexual abilities mean and he utilizes them. This is truly a work of art by an amazing author, Daniel Keyes who spent a tremendous amount of time into the completion of this book.
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Summary: Flowers for Algernon
Review: Flowers for Algernon is a great book about a mentally handicapped man, given the opportunity to be "smart". He is given a new experimental drug, previously only given to a mouse, the drug is supposed to make him smarter. The book is written in diary form, starting with his early entries when he is still mentally challenged, and then his later entries when the drugs begin to kick in. The book focuses on Charly's relationship with the mouse, that is given the experimental drug first, Algernon, hence the title of the book.
The book is not for all age levels, Charly's first entries in his journal are hard to read and follow because the author Daniel Keyes is trying to make the book as real as possible, and therefore he spells many of the words wrong to show Charly's mental retardation. If you aren't a good reader I wouldn't recommend the book because it can be hard to make out some of the words.
I enjoyed every aspect of the book, the plot was intriguing and original, the characters were all unique and caring, every character was well developed, especially Charly, he never jumped from mentally challenged to genius, he progressed slowly, but convincingly.
Flowers for Algernon, is a story about love, friendship, and so much more. It will make you happy one chapter, and sad the next, it's a great book and I would read it again, even if I didn't have to. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a book written from a different perspective or for anyone who just wants to read a good book. I was disappointed with the ending, but you'll just have to read it yourself to find out why. I would have to agree with the New York Times, the book was "A tale that is convincing, suspenseful, and touching."
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Summary: I'm glad my teacher made my class read this.
Review: Flowers For Algernon is a very sweet story which I had trouble reading again because I knew what would happen to the main character, Charlie, at the end. I first read this when I was in 8th grade, and this was the book that my teacher assigned the class to read. For that, I'm glad. Mind you, this book doesn't have any adventure or action in it, even though some places claim that this is Sci-Fi, but its a very touching story that you can't fully appreciate unless you read it the whole way through, if you have the patience. The first part of the book is kinda hard to read because Charlie's spelling is really off, but as he progresses into an even smarter person his writing improves greatly. I thought it was really neat how the book was written like a compilation of Charlie's progress reports, it makes this feel like less of a book and more of something that really happened. There ARE some parts in this book that most would consider inappropriate for young kids, but most mature older kids(like 13 year olds) could handle this. As another person mentioned, these scenes are crucial to the story, and aren't done dis-tastefully. If you have the time and patience to read this book, I'd suggest you to pick this up or check out the library for this book. Its a really nice story.
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Summary: classic science fiction
Review: "Flowers for Algernon" is the story of Charlie, a mentally retarded young man whose intelligence is dramatically enhanced by an experimental surgery. He discovers the rewards of knowledge and learning, but he also learns about the cruelty of those around him - including his own family and friends - and his ultimate solitude as both an "idiot" and a genius. "Flowers for Algernon" is competently written and assembled, nearly seamless in the rise and fall of its story. The diary format is well-executed, and Charlie's changing intelligence is aptly demonstrated in his writing. The prose is honest and the story is unpretentious, holding the reader's attention without resorting to flashiness in either plot or style. The book's flaw is its excessive quietness. The author leaves the story to tell itself, and in so doing he deprives it of some of its power. The knife strikes true, but the final twist - best wrought by a well-placed phrase, a carefully articulated closing line, attention to the beginning of the book and the end - is left unturned, and the reader walks away too lightly, too unmarred.
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